The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon are currently at risk of not qualifying for the African Cup Of Nations 2023 in Cote D’ivoire.
This as Burundi has beaten Namibia 3 – 2 in Group C of the AFCON Qualifiers.
As it stand now in Group C, Namibia tops with 5 points. They have however played all their games. Cameroon and Burundi are second with 4 points each and have one more match to play.
If Burundi beats Cameroon in September, Cameroon will fail to qualify as Burundi and Namibia will qualify with 7 and 5 points, respectively.
If Cameroon beats Burundi on the other hand, Cameroon and Namibia will qualify with 7 and 5 points reapectively.
However, if Cameroon draws with Burundi, there will be a deadlock as all three teams will have 5 points each.
In such a case, what does the rule say?
Here are some analyses done by media Personality and Reporter, Ade Divine:
“FIFA’s Article 14 says if teams are level on points, the first criterion to separate them is points in head-to-head matches among them. In case of a Cameroon-Burundi draw, it will be impossible to separate the teams with Rule 1 as all must have scored 5 points each against one another.
We move over to Rule 2! It says “goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams”. At the moment, all 3 sides have a goal difference of 0 (Namibia has scored 6 and conceded 6; Cameroon has scored 3 conceded 3 and Burundi has scored 4 and conceded 4. Rule 3 (number of goals scored) shall then be triggered. At this level, Namibia (6 goals) and Burundi (4 goals) will qualify given they are the two best scorers. In case of a 4-4 draw or more, Cameroon and Burundi qualify at the expense of Namibia.
Conclusively, this means only a win guarantees Cameroon qualification on September 4th, and spares the Lions of all the maths.”
